JP2024111360A - Exit sign - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To obtain an emergency exit light that can ensure the visibility of both the light warning function and the guidance function while saving space. [Solution] An emergency exit light equipped with a display unit that displays evacuation guidance, further equipped with a light warning unit that issues a fire warning by light in response to an external signal, the display unit and the light warning unit are integrated into a single housing, making it possible to achieve both space saving in the installation location and improved visibility, and to provide appropriate visual information regarding evacuation guidance to evacuees, including those with hearing impairments. [Selected Figure] Figure 5

Description

This disclosure relates to emergency exit lights that are installed for the purpose of evacuation guidance.

The Fire Service Act Enforcement Order requires stations and airports of a certain size or larger, as well as nursing homes and facilities for the disabled, to install emergency bells that automatically detect and warn of fires. In addition, to encourage hearing-impaired people who cannot hear the sound of emergency bells in the event of a fire to evacuate quickly, optical alarm devices that warn of an emergency by flashing lights must be installed in accordance with the guidelines (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

In addition, near emergency exits, guide lights are installed in accordance with installation standards to indicate the locations of evacuation exits, evacuation routes, evacuation equipment, etc., and to guide people to safety. In other words, both the optical warning devices and guide lights have the function of providing visual evacuation guidance, and can provide appropriate visual information regarding evacuation guidance to evacuees, including those with hearing impairments.

Nohmi Disaster Prevention website, light warning device (https://www.nohmi.co.jp/shoninzu/011/011-0010.html)

However, the conventional techniques have the following problems.
Emergency exit lights must be installed according to installation standards. On the other hand, although there are no installation standards for optical warning devices, they must be installed according to guidelines. Thus, although optical warning devices and emergency exit lights are installed according to different standards, they may be installed in the same area.

However, the optical alarm device and emergency exit lights are installed separately at the fire monitoring site. Therefore, when it is necessary to install both an optical alarm device and emergency exit lights in a monitored area where installation space, such as on the ceiling, is limited, it is important to ensure the visibility of both the optical alarm function and the emergency exit light within the limited installation space.

This disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide an emergency exit light that ensures visibility of both the light warning function and the emergency exit function while also saving space.

The emergency exit light according to the present disclosure is an emergency exit light equipped with a display unit that displays evacuation guidance, and further equipped with a light alarm unit that issues a fire alarm by light in response to an external signal, with the display unit and light alarm unit being integrated into a single housing.

This disclosure makes it possible to obtain an emergency exit light that ensures visibility of both the light warning function and the emergency exit function while also saving space.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a typical automatic fire alarm system. FIG. 1 is a layout diagram showing an example of disaster prevention equipment installed in a fire monitoring area in a conventional automatic fire alarm system. 1 is a layout diagram showing an example of disaster prevention equipment installed in a fire monitoring area in an automatic fire alarm system according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram relating to the symbols shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an emergency exit light according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 is an explanatory diagram comparing the appearance of an emergency exit light according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure with the appearance of a conventional emergency exit light;

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the emergency exit light of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
The emergency exit light according to the present disclosure has the technical feature of providing the emergency exit light with the optical warning function of an optical warning device, thereby realizing space saving while ensuring the visibility of both the optical warning function and the emergency exit function.

Embodiment 1.
First, an overview of the automatic fire alarm system equipped with emergency exit lights will be given.
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a typical automatic fire alarm system. A fire receiver 10 is connected to an addressable transmitter 20, fire detectors 31 and 32, a detector repeater 40, and a smoke control repeater 50 via a signal line SG1.

Multiple fire detectors are connected to the detector repeater 40. In FIG. 1, two fire detectors 41 and 42 are shown as an example. In addition, a fire door 51, a smoke exhaust machine 52, a shutter 53, and a siding wall 54 are connected to the smoke control repeater 50.

The fire receiver 10 is also connected to the light alarm devices 61 and 62 and the light alarm device repeater 70 via the signal line SG2. Furthermore, multiple light alarm devices are connected to the light alarm device repeater 70. In FIG. 1, two light alarm devices 71 and 72 are shown as examples.

Here, fire detectors 31, 32 and fire detectors 41, 42 correspond to multiple fire detectors that detect the occurrence of a fire in each of the pre-defined fire monitoring areas.

Furthermore, the fire door 51, smoke exhaust fan 52, shutter 53, and drop wall 54 correspond to a group of terminal equipment that operates in conjunction with the detection results of the multiple fire detectors and functions to prevent the spread of fire, smoke, etc.

In addition, optical alarm devices 61, 62 and optical alarm devices 71, 72 correspond to multiple devices that use light to alert the occurrence of a fire in each of the pre-defined areas.

For example, near emergency exits, guide lights 81, 82 are provided to indicate the locations of evacuation exits, evacuation routes, evacuation equipment, etc. Normally, the guide lights 81, 82 are always on, but they can be turned off when they are turned on in conjunction with the activation of a fire detector installed in the automatic fire alarm system and are set to be turned on according to the mode of use. Figure 1 shows a configuration in which the on/off of the guide lights 81, 82 can be controlled from the fire receiver 10.

Each of the multiple fire detectors is assigned address information in advance to identify the individual fire detector. Each of the multiple fire detectors can transmit fire-related information to the fire receiver 10, including the address information assigned to it. Meanwhile, the fire receiver 10 can transmit the necessary information to the desired fire detector by adding the address information and transmitting the information.

In addition, each of the multiple terminal devices is assigned address information in advance to identify the individual terminal device. Therefore, the fire receiver 10 can send a command to operate the desired terminal device by adding the address information and transmitting the information.

In addition, each of the multiple optical alarm devices is assigned address information in advance to identify the individual optical alarm device. Therefore, the fire receiver 10 can transmit a command to turn on the desired optical alarm device by adding the address information and transmitting the information.

Furthermore, if multiple emergency lights are not always on and can be controlled to be turned on and off by the fire receiver 10, each emergency light is assigned address information in advance to identify the individual emergency light. Therefore, the fire receiver 10 can transmit a command to turn on the desired emergency light by adding the address information and transmitting the information.

With this configuration, the fire receiver 10 collects fire-related information from multiple fire detectors and addressable transmitters 20 installed in various predetermined fire monitoring areas. Then, the fire receiver 10 can issue a fire alarm and activate a group of terminal equipment based on the collected fire-related information.

Furthermore, the fire receiver 10 can turn on light alarm devices and emergency exit lights installed in areas where an alarm is required based on the collected fire-related information. Note that each of the multiple light alarm devices and multiple emergency exit lights is specified in advance as to which fire detector it will operate in conjunction with.

In addition, although not shown in the figure, the fire receiver 10 can output a notification signal based on the collected fire-related information, start fire extinguishing equipment to begin fire extinguishing operations, issue a fire alert or provide evacuation guidance via an emergency broadcast device, and transmit fire-related information to a higher-level device via a network.

The optical warning device and emergency exit lights included in an automatic fire alarm system with such a configuration may be installed in the same space depending on the installation environment. In this embodiment 1, the optical warning function of the optical warning device is provided in the emergency exit light, ensuring the visibility of both the optical warning function and the emergency exit function while realizing space saving. The emergency exit light according to this embodiment 1 will be described in detail.

Figure 2 is a layout diagram showing an example of disaster prevention equipment installed in a fire monitoring area in a conventional automatic fire alarm system. In Figure 2, a smoke detector 2, a heat detector 3, an optical alarm device 4, and an emergency exit light 5 are placed in the fire monitoring area as disaster prevention equipment, and are shown to be controlled by a fire receiver 1.

Meanwhile, FIG. 3 is a layout diagram showing an example of disaster prevention equipment installed in a fire monitoring area in an automatic fire alarm system according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. In FIG. 3, a smoke detector 2, a heat detector 3, an optical alarm device 4, and an emergency exit light 6 with an optical alarm function are placed in the fire monitoring area as disaster prevention equipment, and are shown to be controlled by a fire receiver 1.

The smoke detector 2 and heat detector 3 shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 correspond to the fire detector shown in Fig. 1. Also, each of the emergency lights 6 with light warning function shown in Fig. 3 corresponds to the emergency light 6 according to the present disclosure in which the light warning function of the light warning device 4 and the emergency function of the emergency light 5 are integrated.

Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the symbols shown in Figures 2 and 3 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

Next, the results of comparing the layout in FIG. 2 with the layout in FIG. 3 will be described. The conventional layout shown in FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an installation environment in which the light warning device 4 and the emergency exit light 5 must be placed separately in a limited space near an emergency exit. Therefore, a situation may arise in which it is difficult to install the light warning device 4 and the emergency exit light 5 while ensuring their visibility.

In contrast, the layout according to the present embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 3 illustrates an installation environment in which an emergency exit light 6, which integrates the light warning function of the light warning device 4 and the guidance function of the guidance light 5, is placed in a limited space near an emergency exit. Therefore, by using the emergency exit light 6 according to the present embodiment 1, it is possible to ensure the visibility of both the light warning function and the guidance function, while also realizing space saving.

Next, the specific configuration of the emergency light 6 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. 5 is a functional block diagram of the emergency light 6 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 5, the emergency light 6 according to the first embodiment is configured to include a display unit 6a and a light warning unit 6b.

The display unit 6a has a display function for displaying evacuation guidance. This display function is equivalent to the display function of a conventional emergency exit light 5. The light alarm unit 6b has a light alarm function for issuing a light-based fire alarm in response to an external signal. This light alarm function is equivalent to the light alarm function of a conventional light alarm device 4.

In this way, the emergency exit light 6 according to the first embodiment has the display function of the conventional emergency exit light 5, as well as the light warning function of the conventional light warning device 4.

The external signal shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to a control signal output from a controller such as the fire receiver 10 to the light alarm unit 6b in order to activate the light alarm function in response to the detection result by the fire detector, for example.

When display unit 6a is to be constantly lit, there is no need to supply an external signal, but when lighting is to be linked to the activation of a fire detector, a configuration is adopted in which an external signal is supplied.

In addition, when the display function by the display unit 6a and the light warning function by the light warning unit 6b are operated in synchronization, a common external signal can be used, and when both functions are operated separately, they can be configured to supply separate external signals.

Furthermore, conventional emergency lights 5 have an internal battery that stays lit for a predetermined period of time even during a power outage, based on installation standards, and allows for proper evacuation guidance even during disasters at night. Therefore, the emergency light 6 according to the first embodiment also has a battery (not shown in FIG. 5) that keeps the light lit for a predetermined period of time during a power outage.

Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram comparing the appearance of an emergency exit light 6 according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure with the appearance of a conventional emergency exit light 5. Figure 6 (A) shows an example of the appearance of a conventional emergency exit light 5, and Figure 6 (B) shows an example of the appearance of an emergency exit light 6 according to embodiment 1.

As shown in FIG. 6(B), in the emergency exit light 6 according to the first embodiment, the display unit 6a and the light warning unit 6b are integrated into a single housing. That is, the emergency exit light 6 according to the first embodiment is configured to have the light warning function of the conventional light warning device 4 in addition to the display function of the conventional emergency exit light 5 shown in FIG. 6(A).

Therefore, the emergency light 6 according to the present embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 6(B) realizes a configuration that ensures the visibility of both the light warning function and the emergency function, while also enabling space saving.

In particular, in recent years, the number of properties where optical warning devices are being installed has increased, and so have the number of questions regarding their installation. In such a situation, by adopting the emergency exit light 6 according to the first embodiment, it is possible to solve both the concerns about installation location and visibility at the same time.

1 Fire receiver, 2 Smoke detector (fire detector), 3 Heat detector (fire detector), 4 Optical warning device, 6 Emergency exit light (emergency exit light with optical warning function), 6a Display unit, 6b Optical warning unit.

Claims (2)

An emergency exit light equipped with a display unit that displays evacuation guidance,
A light alarm unit that issues a light-based fire alarm in response to an external signal,
An emergency exit light in which the display unit and the light warning unit are incorporated into a single housing. The emergency exit light according to claim 1, further comprising a battery for maintaining the display unit lit for a predetermined period of time during a power outage.